Jewish women went through a purification ceremony 40 days after the birth of a male child (80 days after the birth of a female child) and brought a lamb to the temple to be sacrificed. According to Mosaic law, Mary and Joseph would also have brought their first-born son to the temple forty days after his birth to offer him to God, like all first-born sons, along with a pair of turtledoves.

The Presentation was originally celebrated in Jerusalem on November 21st but once Christ’s birth was fixed on December 25th (near the winter solstice), the Presentation and Purification rituals would fall forty days later, in early February when torches were carried around the fields.

First celebrated on February 14th, in 350 at Jerusalem, when it would have coincided with the Roman festival of Lupercalia, it was later moved up to February 2nd. Pope Sergius declared it should be celebrated with processions and candles, to commemorate Simeon’s description of the child Jesus as a light to lighten the Gentiles. Candles blessed on this day were used as a protection from evil.

This is the ostensible reason given for the Catholic custom of bringing candles to church to be blessed by the priest on February 2nd, thus the name Candle-Mass. The candles are then taken home where they serve as talismans and protections from all sorts of disasters, much like Brigid’s crosses. In Hungary, according to Dorothy Spicer, February 2nd is called Blessing of the Candle of the Happy Woman. In Poland, it is called Mother of God who Saves Us From Thunder.

Actually this festival has long been associated with fire. Spicer writes that in ancient Armenia, this was the date of Cvarntarach, a pagan spring festival in honor of Mihr, the God of fire. Originally, fires were built in his honor in open places and a lantern was lit which burned in the temple throughout the year. When Armenia became Christian, the fires were built in church courtyards instead. People danced about the flames, jumped over them and carried home embers to kindle their own fires from the sacred flames.

The motif of fire also shows up in candle processions honoring St Agatha (Feb 5) and the legends of St Brigid (Feb 1). The fire represents the spark of new life, like the seeds blessed in northern Europe on St Blaise’s Day (Feb 3) and carried home to “kindle” the existing seed.

The English have many rhymes which prognosticate about future weather based on the weather on Candlemas Day:

If Candlemas Day bring snow and rain
Winter is gone and won’t come again
If Candlemas Day be clear and bright
Winter will have another flight.

These are all similar to the American custom of predicting the weather on Groundhog’s Day, in that you don’t want the groundhog to see his shadow. In Germany, they say that the shepherd would rather see the wolf enter his stable than the sun on Candlemas Day.

The ancient Armenians used the wind to predict the weather for the coming year by watching the smoke drifting up from the bonfires lit in honor of Mihr. The Scots also observed the wind on Candlemas as recorded in this rhyme:

If this night’s wind blow south
It betokeneth warmth and growth;
If west, much milk and fish in the sea;
If north, much cold and snow there will be;
If east, the trees will bear much fruit;
If north-east, flee it, man, woman and brute.

This was also a holiday for Millers when windmills stand idle. In Crete it is said that they won’t turn even if the miller tries to start them.
Blackburn, Bonnie and Leofranc Holford-Strevens, Oxford Companion to the Year, Oxford University Press 1999
Kightly, Charles, The Perpetual Almanack of Folklore, Thames and Hudson 1987
Spicer, Dorothy Gladys, The Book of Festivals, The Woman’s Press 1937

February 2012 definitely has some tricks up its sleeve. Therefore, be prepared for anything – especially as Mercury turns the tables on the red planet Mars via a dicey, 135-degree aspect (12:53AM PST). Seemingly smooth discussions can suddenly become spicy debates or raging arguments. Don’t let that happen on your watch. The lunar orb meandering through the end of earthy Taurus may also open some old, tearful wounds if you are not careful. Void Moon observers should note that a short 9-minute cycle occurs from 11:07AM PST to 11:16AM PST. Thereafter, the Moon lunges into eager, curious and flexible Gemini for the next 2+ days. Reading, writing, arts, crafts, and hobbies take center stage. Weather permitting, toss a Frisbee around, fly a kite or ride your bike through the neighborhood. Giving you a run for the money is a Venus-Mars polarity (3:42PM PST) – stretching from Pisces to Virgo. While some romantic sparks can certainly fly, this sky pattern can equally represent a dynamic, illuminating interchange between lovers, friends and almost any type of partners. Tap into emotional empowerment later on as the Sun forms an inspirational, 72-degree rapport with Juno (11:08PM PST). See the beauty and elegance of the universe all around you rather than complain about trivial pursuits.

Color: Light greyElement: EarthAltar: On a cloth of light grey set a vase of rowan twigs, gathered ahead of time and forced into budding, dried rowan berries from the preceding year, a single red candle, a pot of soil, seeds, a bowl of water, and a bell.Offering: Plant seeds. Keep your dreams alive.Daily Meal: Vegan. Red food.

Invocation to the Green Man of the Rowan Tree

Hail, Green Man of the Winter!
Rowan tree of the mountains,
Slender of stalk and many of leaf,
Sacred berries that break any spell
And ward any home,
Red as the ochre of our ancestors,
Red as the food of the gods,
Brigid’s pride, magical branch,
Protector of doorways,
Protector of children,
Expunger of evil,
Fire of the forge,
Floods across the plain,
Duck who rides the flood,
We hail you, sacred rowan tree,
Green Man of the Winter,
On this the time of your dreaming.

Chant:
I rise with the sap,
I feel the deep spark,
I find joy in the cold,
I bend with the winds.

(Each comes forward and plants a seed in the pot of soil, saying, “Hail Green Man of the Earth!” Water is poured onto the pot, and then the rest is poured out as a libation. Ring bell and dismiss.)

Color: Red and whiteElement: FireAltar: Upon a red cloth light as many candles as you can, as well as a Brigid’s cross, a hammer and an anvil, a pen, a bowl of water, and a sword.Offerings: Brigid’s crosses, twisted of twine or rope. Acts of creativity.Daily Meal: Red food.

Ritual Note: Like all the eight high holidays, this day should ideally be spent not enclosed and isolated, but in common with the larger pagan community. This can be done a number of ways, including spending the day elsewhere, at the Brigid’s Day ritual of another group or tradition, or by inviting in those pagans who would otherwise not be able to attend a ritual. Either way, the eight holidays should be a time of remembering the place of the house in the greater community. If the choice is made to go elsewhere, then no liturgy is needed for the day. If the choice is made to bring the greater community into the lesser one, the following ritual can be used:

(First four who have been chosen to do the work of the ritual cast the quarters with blade, candle, chalice, and hammer.)

East: Hail, spirits of the East,
Powers of Air!
I call upon Lady Brigid,
At this Her time of the year,
Lady of poetry,
Inventor of alphabets,
Who knows the secrets
Of the Words of Power.
Clear our minds, Lady,
With every cleansing breath.South: Hail, spirits of the South,
Powers of Fire!
I call upon Lady Brigid
At this Her time of the year,
Warrior goddess of the sword,
Fighting for that which you call your own,
Creative spark and tempering flame!
Light up our spirits, Lady,
With the heat of your laughter.West: Hail, spirits of the West,
Powers of Water!
I call upon Lady Brigid
At this Her time of the year,
Lady of healing,
Seeker of the sacred herbs,
Curer of illness and mender of body,
Lady of the Holy Well,
May we drink of your overflowing waters.North: Hail, spirits of the North,
Powers of Earth!
I call upon Lady Brigid
At this Her time of the year,
Lady of labor, Lady of the smithy,
Goddess who is not afraid to work,
Hammer and anvil,
Patron of artisan and craftsman,
Gift our hands with your sacred skill
That we may always do you honor.

Invocation to Brigid

Lady of the Sacred Flame,
Warrior woman with hair like fire
Smith who shapes us
Into tools to change the world,
Give us strength and voice
And hands that do your work
Willingly, of our own choice.
Lady of the Holy Well,
Healer woman who knows wounds
Careful hands who stroke us
Into hearts that change the world,
Give us eyes that see true
And hands that offer help
Willingly, in honor of you.

(Each comes forth and gives thanks for something which has come to them in the past year, and asks for something that they wish for Brigid’s aid in achieving. As they do this, they light the candles one by one, singing the Brid chant. Then the quarters are dismissed and the visitors go to feast in the kitchen.)

February Eve

“Dread Lord of death and Resurrection life and the giver of life, Lord within ourselves, whose name is Mystery of Mysteries, encourage our hearts. Let the light crystallize in our blood, fulfilling us of resurrection, for there is no part of us that is not of the Gods.”

February 1

Imbolc and Maiden’s Milk

Between February 1 and 2, Wiccans celebrate the Sabbat of Imbolc(also known as Oimelc or Candlemas), and the return of the Goddess from the underworld in her maiden or virginal form, as exemplified by the Celtic Goddess Brigit (“High One”), Bride or Brigid the name under which the Christians sanctified her. In Ireland, Brigit was venerated as a protector of livestock, a bestower of fertility upon the natural world, a promoter of healing and a patron of poetry and the blacksmith’s art. Oimelc means “ewe’s milk,” for this was the day on which ewes usually began to lactate, and the Goddess’s association with milk was preserved in the notion of Saint Brigid of Kildare’s cows producing milk thrice daily.

“Flowery Words”

In northern climes, the emergence of early spring flowers is evidence that nature is awakening and that Brigit is among us again, so pick a posy and pour a glass of cow’s milk on the ground as a libation to the Goddess.